Health experts are especially recommending people get their flu shot this year with the number of COVID-19 cases at a high level.
Tom Veeser, Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Quality at Holy Family Memorial Medical Center was asked if we could conceivably have a combination of both COVID and a flu outbreak at the same time.
He said ”The definition of pandemic is that it’s spread throughout the world. So, we don’t actually even have a local presence of influenza. I think it’s an appropriate term of a concern but is not an appropriate term of an actual problem.”
Veeser tells SeehaferNews.com that typically they start vaccinating for the flu in late September or October. ”Most of the time we see the flu November through March or even into April,” he explained. “The last few years the flu has hit us more in the early to mid-Spring.”
The HFM Health leader also spoke about the recent spike in coronavirus cases and how it might affect influenza diagnosis. ”The flu and the COVID-19 will present similarly,” he said. “We will have a test in late October where we can test for influenza A & B, RSV, as well as COVID-19.”
Veeser explains their treatment plan, depending on how it presents itself, is not a lot different, with one exception. If you’re moderately impacted by COVID-19 they’ll have more aggressive treatment such as Remdesivir or convalescent plasma based on the symptoms.
